Irish Caramel Apple Cake with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

This cake is very moist and has a surprising twist—the carmel makes a hard crust on the peaks of the Bundt cake like toffee. It's sometimes thick and wonderfully gooey [like in the picture], and sometimes like pieces of candy. I love the surprise of never knowing which it will be, because regardless, it is ALWAYS delicious!

ooey, gooey, goodness!

P.S. I'm pretty sure it's only called "Irish" because it was created at a restaurant in Dublin and contains Irish Whiskey.

Aw, man, and if you serve it warm [ heat it in the microwave if you have to] with the whipped cream.... duuuuuude! Sooooo good!
Ingredients:
CARAMEL:
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 c butter or margarine
2 TB heavy whipped cream
1/3 c chopped pecans

CAKE:

• 6 TB butter, or 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 cups of apples of preference - diced or grated [peeling optional]
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup water or milk
• 1 egg
• 3 TB Irish Whiskey*optional*- [I used my Tierney Irish Cream, since I had some on hand]

CINNAMON WHIPPED CREAM:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 TB powdered sugar
3 or 4 good shakes cinnamon


Directions:

1. Heat oven to 335 F.

2. In small sauce pan over low heat, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 4 TB butter, and 2 tablespoons of whipping cream. Cook and stir just until butter is melted. Remove from heat after it comes to a boil; stir in pecans. Pour mixture into bottom of well greased [Non-stick Spray the heck out of the bottom of that baby.] Bundt cake pan. Set aside. You don't have to use a Bundt cake pan, you can also use a deep dish 9" pie plate or casserole dish.

3. In large bowl, combine all cake ingredients [except apple]. Stir 50-75 strokes by hand until mix is moistened and well incorporated. Add Apple and stir them in until everything is well coated. Carefully spoon batter over caramel mixture, making sure caramel is completely covering bottom of pan and surrounding batter. [caramel should form a kind of moat around the cake mix]

Look closely and you can see the caramel goodness peeking around the outer  edges.

Bake at 335F-- for Bundt Pan: 50-55, or,  9" pan: 45-50 minutes--until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 1 minute; invert onto serving plate. Cool.

4. Just before serving, in small bowl, beat remaining whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and cinnamon. Beat until stiff peaks form. Add whipped cream to individual slices before serving. **This whipped cream is only very mildly sweet so it doesn't send the whole dessert into cloying, sugary overload.

Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

Mint Sauce For Lamb

Mint Sauce For Lamb

       Yield: 4 servings [or with me, maybe 2 servings. But my love for this crosses over into the realm of the disturbing, so, don't mind me, carry on...]

  

       3 lg Handfuls of chopped fresh mint leaves(stems removed) - or 4 TB dried Mint leaves

       4-5 TB  Granulated sugar

       1/2 cup  White Wine vinegar

  

   (From “English Country Cooking at Its Best” by Caroline Conran.

   Villard, 1985).

   

   

Alternatives: Use lemon juice instead of vinegar and you can also add

   a little olive oil. This is not traditional mint sauce, being much

   less pungent in flavor, but it is exceptionally good.

Bring vinegar to a simmer in a small saucepan [or microwave in a small glass measuring cup for just under a minute, add sugar and chopped leaves. Let sit for about 10 minutes, then stir and heat again for 30-60 seconds. Let sit another 10 minutes to infuse. Add more sugar or add a little water to taste, depending on how strong or how sweet you want the sauce. (I add no extra water or sugar to this recipe, but you may prefer yours a little less potent.)

Store in bottle with a lid.

Vinegar has natural preservative qualities, and mint sauce should keep for 2 to 3 months in cold storage or for 6 to 8 months in the refrigerator.

Mint sauce should be gently shaken or stirred before serving.

Amazingly Easy Irish Soda Bread

Let me admit right now, I am on an Irish Soda Bread kick. In search of the most repeat worthy recipe I can find. You, my friend, are on this journey with me.
Today's recipe is:

Amazingly Easy Irish Soda Bread

• 4 cups all-purpose flour [ feel free to substitute some wheat flour for 1- 1.5 cups of the white AP]
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 1/2 cup margarine, softened
• 1.5 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

I plan to make all sorts of variations of this adding fruit and spices, or cheese. The possibilities are endless!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet. [line with parchment paper]
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine. Stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a flat, round cake, about 2 inches high, and place on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, melt butter; brush loaf with this. Use a sharp floured knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 38 minutes, or until lightly golden and sounds hollow when you tap on the bottom-- or a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.**If yours isn't getting golden, start toothpick testing every 2 minutes starting at 30 minutes. My friend's didn't ever get golden in color-- My theory is that this might be due to the buttered top?? So, if it looks firm and times up, just start testing for doneness, and don't wait on the color.**
4. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter while it bakes.
5. Wrap loaf in tea towel immediately after removing from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Tierney's Irish Cream [Forget Bailey's!]

Is it St. Paddy's Day yet? No? Hmmmm. Well in anticipation of that fine Irish Holiday I bring you, my Homemade Irish Cream Liqueur.


• 1 cup whiskey (inexpensive middle of the road is okay) *I used Mac Gregor's Scotch Whiskey and it was fabulous.
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup Half-n-Half
• 1/3 cup chocolate syrup
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Directions:
Ok, here's where it get super tricky. Prepare yourself.

In blender, combine all ingredients; blend until smooth.
Store tightly covered in refrigerator up to one month. Shake well before serving.

Irish Beef Stew with Guinness *Guinness Beef Stew REVISED*

Because its still 95 degrees here in Tennessee the next to last week of September, and because I sooooo want for Fall to finally arrive, I am menu planning recipes to celebrate its impending arrival. Maybe Fall will hear about my love for it and come to my house for an extended visit. Maybe?

Ingredients:

• 1-½ pound lean beef stew meat, cubed
• 1 large Yellow Onion, diced
• 2 cups Low Sodium Beef Broth
• 1 cup Guinness  [to be honest, I use pretty much the whole 11 oz. bottle]
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoons Dried Thyme
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 3 whole Bay Leaves
• 3 whole Carrots, Peeled and Cut Into 1" Chunks
• ½ pound Baby Red Potatoes, Scrubbed and Halved
• 3 TBSP Flour
• 2 TBSP Extra light olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Chopped Flat Leaf Parsley , or 2 tsp dried parsley flakes

 Instructions

Heat a 6-quart stove-top casserole and add the oil and the bay leaves. Cook the bay leaves for a moment and then add the meat.
Brown the meat on both sides on high heat. Add the sliced onion and cook for a few minutes until it is clear. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, thyme, rosemary and flour, and stir well until smooth.
Add the beef stock and stout; simmer, stirring, until the stew thickens a bit. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
 Check for salt and pepper before serving.

Serves 4

Irish Potato Soup! 'Cause baby it's cold outside!

It's cold. It's raining. And, they're calling for snow tonight.
To me, this says that serious comfort food is the order of the day.
And nothing comforts better than cheesy goodness, and a wee bit o' the Irish--soup, that is!
with maybe a little of that other Irish later on...

Irish Potato Soup

~Ingredients~

    * 2 tablespoons butter
    * 1 cup chopped onion
    * 2 stalks chopped celery
    * 1 teaspoon minced garlic [2 cloves]
    * 4 good sized potatoes, or about 2 lbs, cubed [I leave the skins ON]
    * 3 cups chicken broth [3 cups water, 3 tsp chicken bouillon]
    * 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
    * 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  I like to add a carrot or 2 to mine as well. But that is completely optional and not traditionally Irish. But I'm Irish, so I say it counts!

~Directions~
In a medium-large pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add everything EXCEPT cheese and bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soup is thick and only small chunks of potato remain.

Add cheese and stir until cheese is melted.

Garnish with cheese and green onion, if desired.

Traditional Roasted Leg of Lamb

Traditional Roasted Leg of Lamb

1 leg of lamb, in part or whole olive oil 2 cloves garlic, peeled and slivered salt black pepper rosemary 

 Rub the entire leg with a light coating of olive oil. 

Cut small slits into the top (fat side) of the leg, taking care not to cut the strings. 

Insert small slivers of garlic into each incision. 

 Season with kosher salt, fresh black pepper, and rosemary. 

Roast in a preheated 325 degree oven at 40 minutes per pound for little to no pinkness, but still very tender. 

 Mint Sauce: 

2 tbsp dried mint leaves , or 3 handfuls fresh, finely chopped 

3 tsp white sugar 

4 TBSP White Wine Vinegar, or rice wine vinegar 

**put in microwave safe container and heat at 30 second intervals, *WATCH CONSTANTLY* stirring once it starts to boil. heat for about 2 minutes total. 

Store leftovers in airtight container for up to 6 months.